“Forcing Risen to testify is an attempt to muzzle every journalist who might publish leaked information. It is an attempt to decide what should and should not be in the press,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

Writing for Salon, Glenn Greenwald said the repeated attempts to force Risen to testify are contributing to a “climate of fear” and the suppression of freedom. “Few things are more effective in creating a Climate of Fear — one that deters investigation and disclosure and stifles the exercise of basic rights — than prosecuting prominent people for having challenged and undermined the government’s agenda,” Greenwald wrote. “As Risen documents, that — plainly — is what this prosecution and the Obama administration’s broader anti-whistleblower war is about: chilling the exercise of basic rights and the ability to challenge government actions.